Red Wings hope to get boost from Johan Franzen's return, as Valtteri Filppula now sidelined by shoulder injury

Michigan Live | Feb 27

The Detroit Red Wings will get at least one injured player back on Wednesday, while a couple more are close to returning. But, another is idled with a new injury.

It has been that kind of season.

Johan Franzen will return to the lineup Wednesday against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, bolstering an offense that, surprisingly, ranks fifth in the NHL, considering the rash of injuries.

He'll replace Valtteri Filppula on a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Damien Brunner. Filppula is out with a sore left shoulder, which is likely to keep him out of Thursday's game in San Jose, too.

“We’d like to have everyone on deck, but look around the league, that’s just not the case,'' coach Mike Babcock said. “You have to find a way to win games. This is a big trip for us. We’ve played (12) home games and haven’t played as much on the road (seven). We have to find a way to win on the road when match-ups aren’t (in your favor).''

The Red Wings (9-7-3) have won back-to-back games after a five-game winless streak (0-3-2). The Kings started slowly (3-5-2), but are on a roll, having won four in a row and six of their past seven, allowing only 10 goals in the process.